10 YEARS OF PLAY AT GLAZER

10 Years of Play at Glazer Children’s Museum

By Sarah Cole, Glazer Children's Museum CEO

In the spring of 2010, a new building was being completed in downtown Tampa. It would become the new home for a children’s museum. A small team of staff, myself included, moved our offices from a small rental on Jackson Street into this beautiful new building, and got to work getting ready to welcome kids.

It had gone by a few names over the years, but today the community knows it as Glazer Children’s Museum. Whatever name it’s known by, the children’s museum has brought joy to children for decades.

The words museum and play might not go together naturally in most people’s minds. The word “museum” in its Greek form means “home of the muses.” Museums are literally houses of inspiration. A children’s museum brings inspiration to families through playful interaction and learning. In a traditional museum, guests may take time to contemplate art or history while reading information or listening to a tour. In a children’s museum, kids play, and by doing so, learn about the world around them. You may have heard the quote, “Play is the work of childhood” from psychologist Jean Piaget. Or from our favorite neighbor, Mr. Fred Rogers: “Play is serious learning.” These quotes guide our work and help us remember that play is not just respite for children, but is actually brain-building learning.

Sarah Cole, wife Annie and twins Bobby and Betty, 7.

The new building opens to the public in 2010

Glazer Children's Museum today

The new building under construction downtown

Imagine for a moment that you’re watching two children play in the Publix exhibit at the Glazer Children’s Museum. The kids are both around 7, playing out a shopping scenario. Looks pretty innocuous right? When we look deeper, we can see more happening. At the beginning of the play, the two children negotiate who would be the shopper and who would be the clerk. Maybe they both want to shop, but work through the disagreement to choose roles. Next, the child who is shopping navigates the store and selects some produce. He names the items he is getting: apples, bananas, potatoes, and something he doesn’t recognize. He asks the other child, who tells him it is a cantaloupe, and he learns a new word. The clerk takes her position at the register and counts the shopper’s items. One cantaloupe. Three bananas. Maybe she even does some math with the list at the register. “That’s $5, please.” The scene complete, the clerk takes a turn sorting the items by shape and color. A gentle reminder from a Playologist (a GCM educator) leads the kids to straighten up when they are done. Altogether, this playtime took maybe five minutes, but in that time, the children practiced social interaction, conflict resolution, vocabulary, math, pattern recognition and more.

For young children, play is the space where all the things they are learning come together and connect. The new words, ideas and skills are practiced and honed. But perhaps more importantly, social skills and executive function grow during play. Executive function is a term to describe how various brain functions work together for self-control, problem solving, motivation and planning. Executive function is highly tied to childhood play and is incredibly important for success later in life.

1965

1987

Safety Village, a miniature city aimed at teaching children about pedestrian, traffic and fire safety, opens in Lowry Park.

The Children’s Museum of Tampa officially opens at the Floriland Mall, but quickly outgrows its original storefront.

1990

The museum finds a new home at Safety Village in Lowry Park, later named Kid City.

2004

As the museum continues to grow, planning begins for a new facility.

2010

2011

The Glazer Children’s Museum opens in downtown Tampa at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.

The museum launches Sunshine Sunday, a special sensory-friendly event for families of children with special needs.

2018

Glazer Children’s Museum launches new community outreach program Learn & Play Tampa Bay for families with children under 5.

2019

2020

The Glazer Children’s Museum welcomes its 2 millionth visitor.

The Glazer Children’s Museum celebrates 10 years of play at the downtown location.

In September 2010, I was lucky enough to be part of the team that welcomed the first families into the new Glazer Children’s Museum. The two years leading the education department are some of the best memories of my career. I’ve long said that the program I’m proudest of was the creation of Sunshine Sunday, our special sensory friendly program, which is now monthly. As my life and career evolved, I found myself headed back to the Midwest. My wife and I became parents to twins. The educational theories that guided my work had suddenly become our daily life. When our son was diagnosed with autism, I was able to rely on the contacts I had made in developing Sunshine Sunday to help us navigate services. And as I continued to work in “grown-up” museums, I felt the tug to return to the world of children’s museums.

A year ago, I returned to the Glazer Children’s Museum, this time as CEO. And this September, we celebrate 10 years in downtown Tampa. This 10th year has been...unpredictable to say the least. But there’s nowhere I’d rather be than standing with a team driven to keep families playing and learning. Play is transformative for children, especially in times of uncertainty and stress. Play provides a space for children to process the challenges we continue to face. For example, my own daughter has been playing dramatic stories featuring coronavirus as the ultimate villain. I may not understand it, but I know that it’s helping her process and cope. The last few months have been hard, but we know that with the support of our community, we’ll keep providing powerful play for decades to come.

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